Tears in her eyes, she added, “But I have trust in this system till now. Umeed ki kiran hai (There is a ray of hope). We have fought so long for justice, only because the guilty should be punished 100 percent.”

A day before a CBI court in Panchkula pronounces its verdict in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, one of the complainants told The Indian Express that she is hopeful that her long wait for justice will end Friday.

“Hamney to suna hai, ye India hai, yahan aasani se nyay nahi milta hai. aur woh bhi jab ladai ek powerful ke khilaf ho. Paise wala kuch bhi kar sakta hai yahan. (We have heard it’s not easy to get justice in India, especially when the fight is against a powerful person. A person who has money can do anything here),” said the complainant, a former sadhvi at the dera.

Tears in her eyes, she added, “But I have trust in this system till now. Umeed ki kiran hai (There is a ray of hope). We have fought so long for justice, only because the guilty should be punished 100 percent.”

“Fortunately, this case was handled by honest officers from CBI. They have tried their best to ensure justice to us. That’s why we have hope,” said the complainant.

The CBI had lodged the FIR against the dera chief in 2002. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had referred the matter to the agency after an anonymous letter purportedly written by a sadhvi began circulating. In the letter addressed to the PM, Haryana CM and Chief Justice of high court, the sadhvi accused the dera chief of raping her and other sadhvis and pleaded for an inquiry. Before referring the matter for a CBI probe, the high court had taken a report on the matter from the District and Sessions Judge of Sirsa.

The CBI subsequently succeeded in locating two sadhvis who deposed before a trial court that the dera chief sexually exploited them. In 2008, a CBI court ordered framing of rape charges against the dera chief.

The complainant alleged, “My life has changed after I gave the statement. I can’t move freely. There is danger to my life. I am also apprehensive about lives of my family members.”

“Nothing can happen in the dera without permission of the ‘Baba’ because of his terror. I have heard that if somebody speaks against the Guru, he should be lynched. The followers take his preachings as message of God. The dera chief gives money to followers if they influence their relatives and others to join the dera”.

She said dera followers had more faith in “baba” than their children. “If anybody complains against the dera chief, their parents would tell them, ‘you are wrong’. Many other sadhvis want to leave the dera, but they can’t because of the terror. If somebody dares to speak against the dera chief, he or she is subjected to atrocities. We have even heard that a girl’s backbone was broken,” she alleged.

Asked how she mustered courage to speak up, she said, “I wanted to expose him. We were pressured and money was offered to us to change our statement”.

Responding to the allegations, Dera spokesperson Dr Dilawar Insan said, “The case is underway. We don’t want to say anything at this stage. A senior dera functionary said, “These are concocted stories. How can a person be held guilty on the basis of an anonymous letter?”

The CBI JUDGE in convicting so called Baba Ram Rahim has proved that there are people in India who stand for justice to the weakest against the strongest even at the risk of their lives. I pray God Almighty bless this the most Honorable Judge for giving justice to the poor victims against all odds. The Honorable Judiciary of Punjab Haryana High Court also deserve highest credit for supporting justice system in India. Indian Parliament should bring legislation to takeover all the properties of such Deras who are exploiting sentiments of people by brainwashing and looting the innocents.

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goldi

Aug 25, 2017 at 9:56 pm

A person like Salman Khan who has killed innocent people under his car is free in the country and is making a mockery of the justice system.
If Ram rahim is guilty justice is served and he should go to jail just like any other ordinary citizen of the country.

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dhanabati

Aug 28, 2017 at 2:18 pm

why mentioneed salman. the man died becoz he does not know the man sleep in the street???

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Antony

Aug 25, 2017 at 9:26 pm

Cases of crores of child secsxual abuse by Catholic christian priests, nuns and members of Christian religious orders, and subsequent crores of cover-ups, in the 20th and 21st centuries have led to numerous investigations, trials and convictions but that is a very small fraction of crores of rapes by Christian priests. The abused include boys and girls, some as young as 3 years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. The reality of Christians raping children began to receive wide publicity in the late 1980s. Many of these involve cases in which a Christian figure was abusing for decades such rapes came out by adults or older youths years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic christian hierarchy who covered up seax abuses and moved abusive priests to other parishes where abuse continued using illegal diplomatic immunity the Vatican church gets which allows them to rape and run away.

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Antony

Aug 25, 2017 at 9:24 pm

Cases of crores of child secsxual abuse by Catholic christian priests, nuns and members of Christian religious orders, and subsequent crores of cover-ups, in the 20th and 21st centuries have led to numerous investigations, trials and convictions but that is a very small fraction of crores of rapes by Christian priests. The abused include boys and girls, some as young as 3 years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. The reality of Christians raping children began to receive wide publicity in the late 1980s. Many of these involve cases in which a Christian figure was abusing for decades such rapes came out by adults or older youths years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic christian hierarchy who covered up seax abuses and moved abusive priests to other parishes where abuse continued using illegal diplomatic immunity the Vatican church gets which allows them to rape and run away.

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goldi

Aug 25, 2017 at 9:57 pm

A person like Salman Khan who has killed innocent people under his car is free in the country and is making a mockery of the justice system. If Ram rahim is guilty justice is served and he should go to jail just like any other ordinary citizen of the country.

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Jay

Aug 25, 2017 at 9:16 pm

While all the Christians are spreading hate against Hinduism using Hindu names they continue to own largest land in India afternoon Railways in churches and missionary schools where they rampantly molest and rape children. For how long?
Kerala christian priest Christian padre rape case: The Christian Church's defense is sick and dangerous.
The convenient excuse that the church hands out each time such an assault comes out in the open is this – “Not all christian priests are like that.”
And yet, this is exactly what the christian Church is doing. Worse, many connected with the christian church and Christian priest directly or indirectly are openly blaming the child. But no amount of religiosity, spirituality or faith in God can get anyone to defend or justify an act as sickening and predatory as a Christian priest getting a 16-year-old girl pregnant, and then covering it up.